


Friendly Advice

by timahina



Series: ZarcRay Week 2018 [4]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, F/M, ZarcRay Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-03-21
Packaged: 2019-04-05 12:13:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14044059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timahina/pseuds/timahina
Summary: It was overall a happy marriage but he still didn't know what to do with a wife, especially a human one. Zarc needed help.





	Friendly Advice

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Duties](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10583289) by [seasaltmemories](https://archiveofourown.org/users/seasaltmemories/pseuds/seasaltmemories). 



> Directly takes place after Mandy's fic so I highly recommend reading that before this one

Take her to another god, he did. The flight over wasn’t as long as she thought. Time was hard to tell when they were up so high and all Ray could do was cling onto Zarc and try not to think about how high they were. They descended from the clouds to land – as they lowered, Ray recognized none of the terrain. They were farther than she had traveled, a slight pang in her heart realizing more and more that home was soon to be but a distant memory. How long would it take for her to forget what they all looked like or even the sound of their voices?

The land now, was frozen over. There was a lake of ice and yet, it wasn’t cold. Ray wondered how that was possible or even how Zarc could land on such a thin layer of ice and not immediately fall through.

This had to be the work of a being like him, begging the question…

What kind of god did he take her to?

“Hey, Asuka! I know you here!” Zarc started shouting, stomping on the ice impatiently. His grip on her was still as tight as before, refusing to put her down. If there was anything she learned of spending nearly a week with him, Zarc was a rather… _clinging_ type of husband. Ironically, considering the tales of rage and violence that surrounded him – even his appearance worked against him.

Her being in his arms was either his way of being affectionate with her… or keeping her close in case of danger. Plausible enough. But he was a god of vengeance and destruction, was there anything more dangerous aside from him?

Suddenly, the ice below them cracked and broke apart. They fell through and Ray held tighter onto Zarc on instinct, momentarily forgetting about the spikes under his jaw and cut her cheek. “ _Shit_!” Zarc cursed under his breath as he flew down and – wait.

Ray just noticed. Under the lake of ice, there was a castle of blue and white. Was… was this what Zarc was looking for? A home hidden away under the frozen lake. Surely this must’ve been another god he was looking for. She was mesmerized by her surroundings, too distracted to notice when they had reached the ground and how, despite the snow falling around them, it was warm. Or perhaps that was just a byproduct from being held for so long.

They reached the ground and immediately, Zarc set her down and tore her dress. This was nothing new, her dress had torn before from traveling and snagging on different branches – along with some of the more… enthusiastic nights. But Zarc tearing a part of her dress and wrapping it around his hand so he could press it against her cheek. His eyes were studying her for any sign of pain or fear. “… you okay?”

His voice was gentle, like his touch.

Ray raised her hand, placing it upon his own and smiled. It was sweet, to say the least. How much he worried for any injury she may or may not have incurred. “I’ve had worse injuries playing with my brother.” She tried to lessen the worry written so plainly in his eyes. A slight pout from him – he didn’t appreciate her response as much. Maybe she needed to be sincere and not bite back. “… I _am_ fine, honestly. It was just a surprise.”

“… I guess I shouldn’t be holding you like that again, eh?”

“Ah, but if you didn’t – I’d be a lot worse off than just a cut.” A rouge image of her falling through the ice, watching Zarc fly down to her and their arms extended to one another and her body slamming to the ground before he could reach. Ray grew rigid, realizing exactly how close to death she was.

Again.

He moved his hand away, seeing it was no longer bleeding like before. Though he noticed how stiff she became. Attributing it to her previous statement, he kissed her unwounded cheek in an effort to appease her. “You’re right. Better a cut than something breaking.”

She blinked, once – twice. Did he… have no clue to the extent of what such a fall would do to her?

Ray didn’t get much of a chance to respond before a storm of ice enveloped them, growing intense by the moment. Quickly, Zarc drew her near to him – holding her against himself with his hand cradling her head protectively.

It was still strange, for so much ice and snow – there was no chill. It was like spring temperature – warm and refreshing but nothing was matching it. Instead of falling to her death in ice, was she to fall prey to an ice storm instead? Her frustration grew. Why were they in such a dangerous place? “Where are we!” Ray finally screamed as the ice finally dissipated. There was no longer a castle her view or the feel of iced flooring but an actual floor.. what was…?

“Really Zarc? I let you in and you’re already starting to be disgusting?”

Zarc let Ray go and she immediately searched for the voice, seeing a new figure standing before them. A tall woman with long blonde hair, almost regal in appearance. She assumed she must’ve been the owner of this castle. But this woman, she looked… she looked… _human_.

Not some hybrid of monster and man like Zarc but more so to an ordinary woman.

“Hey, that’s no way to treat a _guest_ , Asuka.” Zarc said as he stood up, his manner playful.

Asuka didn’t look as amused. “I wouldn’t call you a _welcomed_ guest… not if you’re going to be eating _that_ in front of me.” Asuka pointed to Ray, who was overall confused. No, wait!

Zarc called her his bride, no – he shouldn’t have any cause to kill her. Not… not anymore, not with how he referred to her. Ray stood up as well, not realizing how tightly she was holding his hand, trying to think clearly. Rationally. He couldn’t harm her, no - _wouldn’t_ harm her… He turned his head, his eyes still gentle before removing his hand from her grip and wrapping his arm around her waist. “I don’t really like an audience when I… _eat_ her.” Ray couldn’t look at neither Zarc or whoever this Asuka was in the eye, not in good conscious and instead opted to keep her head down. Maybe this was all a lucid dream and she wasn’t having to hear her sex life being said aloud without any consideration.

Asuka rolled her eyes. “Whatever, I don’t care what you do with your meals. Jus-”

“Bride.”

That gave her pause.

“… what?”

Zarc beamed proudly, turning to Ray and kissing her cheek. “My bride, Ray. Isn’t she cute?”

There was a bit of uncertainty in the air as this woman merely stared at them, a long eyebrow perfectly raised in skepticism. It was like she was waiting for him to admit it was a lie, that he was kidding – an odd joke. But the longer he stayed quiet and looked at Ray with admiration, the more it began to sink in to her that he was not kidding after all. Instead, shock was coursing through her face. “… you got married?”

Zarc nodded. “Yup! I’ve fulfilled that godly duty of marriage. Aren’t you gonna say how proud you are of me?” Almost as quick as he spoke, another gust of icy wind whipped past him.

Asuka didn’t say anything in response, merely stepping forth and circling the pair, specifically studying the human in her home. Out of all the gods, Zarc was the last one she ever expected to parade around with a bride. And a _human_ one nonetheless. Having a human partner was so useless, so worthless and inconsequential that usually the gods laughed at such concept. They were such fragile creatures.

There was a cut on this girl’s cheek and her dress was torn, small and healed cuts were all along her legs. He most certainly was being careless with her. Her nose scrunched and she turned away – even worse, this human smelled.

Probably from the travel and…their other activities.

Asuka snapped her fingers and almost immediately, two women appeared and bowed before her. “Take Zarc’s human to bathe. And get her a proper change of clothes. And… make her presentable, it’s disgraceful for a bride of a god to appear like a dog.”

Ray blushed from fury and embarrassment – it was probably true she didn’t have the greatest appearance right now but to liken her to a dog? That was too low a jab. What kind of goddess did Zarc take her to if all she did was insult them both – particularly her?

But a bath… and even new clothes, she had taken for granted what such simple pleasures they were but after a week – it was about to feel like heaven indeed and she allowed herself to be guided away by the servants while Zarc and Asuka stayed.

Asuka crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. “So why are you here? Just going around delivering the happy news on your nuptials?”

Zarc shook his head. He would’ve thought it’d be obvious. “No, uh… I wanted some advice.” The look on her face was so unamused and she sighed, turning around and motioning his hand for him to follow her and he did. “You’re the expert in these matters.”

“I’m a Goddess of Love, not marriage. Those two don’t always go hand in hand.”

“Ok, but you’re also married so with tha-!” Another gust of icy wind, this time it knocked him forward and she stepped over him. _Oh right…_ That had become a touchy subject for Asuka, he’d almost forgotten. Zarc pushed himself back up and huffed. “I’m not gonna beg, ya know!”

He followed her out to a garden – the ice sculptures were all of flowers, bushes, and plants. All beautiful figures forever captured and frozen. She sat by the fountain and Zarc plopped down across from her, figuring it was safer than trying to sit next to her and being dragged down into the water flowing behind her.

“Do not mention that farce again and _maybe_ I’ll listen to what you have to say.”

Her eyes were already filled with anger, resentment. Zarc still remembered her wedding day.

Her hand was given away as a prize, dictated by her brother. It was supposed to be rigged, a simple war game that went on every year on the summer solstice. No one had taken the game or prize seriously, knowing full well she had no interest in any of them. If anything, it was merely a simple sporting event and they had made jokes about her and her many husbands. That was, until a dark horse contender arrived and floored them all – demanding Asuka’s hand for his victory.

Her _farce_ of a marriage was exactly that.

“Well… what do I do with her?”

Asuka scoffed, flipping her hair back. “Elaborate.”

“I got her about a week or so ago and while I’m not complaining about getting a bride ‘cause I do honestly like her, I don’t know what to do with her. I mean, besides the obvious. I’m still a little lost why they decided to up and gimme her instead of the usual sacrifice.” Zarc scratched the back of his head.

Asuka could only stare, her eyes cold and distant. This was an easy situation to fix. “Return her.”

“Hell no!”

“If you have no idea what to do with her aside from having sex every night, then you should return her. Humans are weak creatures, you’d probably end up killing her from recklessness.”

He scoffed. “I’ve been _super_ careful with her! Apart from today, she hasn’t had _one_ injury!”

“I’m not going to tell you what to do – I’m not your keeper. But…” Asuka stepped forward, her hands on her hips and nothing but a heavy air of warning surrounded her. Zarc couldn’t tear his eyes away. “ _Why_ do you want her? Physical activity aside, she is only human. You cannot toy with her.”

Zarc huffed, spreading his wings and flying away from her as fast as he could. He wasted too much time talking to her and it was utterly ridiculous. He was asking for help, some advice on what to do with the situation on his hands. Ray was… he didn’t want to get rid of her. She was ultimately a glorified sacrifice and he should get rid of her, that much was obvious. He didn’t have a real purpose for her and most of what he did with her was sex, something he could get anywhere.

But she was… she was growing on him. Ray would bite back at him, but almost… lovingly. She was understandably nervous around him, it was a learning experience as he realized that humans are quite… different.

He didn’t want to part with her. Nothing Asuka would tell him would convince him.

So what if she had a failed marriage?

That wasn’t his marriage – and so what if Ray was human?

Humans didn’t live long. They could get injured from everything. He was a God of Wrath and Destruction, here was nothing he could touch that was safe from complete ruin. With her though, with Ray – he did his best. He was so careful and slow and soft with her. Humans were fragile; catching a cold could lead to pneumonia and death. Even the smallest cut… like the one she got on her cheek, could get an infection and waste her body from the inside out.

There were so many things that could go wrong.

But.

He didn’t want to let her go.

Zarc found her in a bedroom, hearing her soft breathing inside and he opened the door – seeing her fast asleep under the covers and curled up. She looked peaceful, quiet and comfortable. He hadn’t seen her look so tranquil before though that was probably due to sleeping outdoors in the cold.

“Ray…” He whispered her name, crawling on the bed and shaking her slightly. “Ray, wake up.”

She stirred in her sleep, smiling softly as she opened her eyes slowly. “… let me sleep.” Ray muttered, burying her face into the pillow. “Another night, Zarc…”

He sighed. “Fine, but… ya mind if I hold you?”

“… ok, but hands _above_ the blanket.” She warned him, moaning softly as he wrapped his arm around her and she nestled against him.

Zarc didn’t want to part with her, not yet.


End file.
